A Window to the Past
by SirAvery
Summary: As much as we may wish it, time bows to no one. It is content to march on without hindrance or thought to anyone else. Ella may wish for a normal life, but as the clock ticks on, she realizes that this is not the case. Her life has been changed and there is little anyone can do to stop it. Eventual Tom Riddle/OC. Part 1 of Time's Curse.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>SEPTEMBER, 1943<p>

"Ella!"

My head shot up in surprise to see Margaret, with her trunk trailing behind her, hurrying towards me through the crowds of other students in the corridor. Wisps of her dark hair escaped her bun and floated around her face, while her blue eyes glowed as she approached me with a smile. "How was your summer?" she asked as soon as she was next to me.

"Same as usual," I replied, shrugging slightly. "Yours?"

"Eh. Alright." She tugged my arm. "Have you found a compartment yet?"

"No…"

"Well, come on, then!" Walking briskly away from me down the hall, she peered into compartments. After a second's hesitation, I began to follow her, weaving through excited Hogwarts students coming back for another year. All too soon, I lost sight of her. Letting out a sigh, I turned on my foot, glancing around for any friendly face that I recognized.

Uncomfortably, I realized that I was standing outside of a compartment full of third year Hufflepuffs, who were giggling and looking at me. Letting out another sigh, I made my way down the train, glancing in different compartments, trying to find my friend. Without looking, I accidentally ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, looking up into the cold, dark eyes of Tom Riddle. A chill ran through me as he narrowed his eyes at me slightly, but a charming smile was plastered on his face.

"It's quite alright, Miss Linden," he said coolly. "Are you alright?"

I instantly felt my guard going up. "Yes, I'm fine." I slid my eyes to behind him to where Margaret had come out of a compartment, staring at me in confusion. "Now if you'll excuse me…" I made my way past him, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed even more, and followed Margaret into the compartment, closing the door after me.

"I thought I'd lost you," Margaret was saying as I hoisted my trunk into the luggage rack. "Why were you talking to Riddle?"

"Riddle?" echoed another voice. Taking a look at my surroundings, I could see that there were two other people sitting on the seats across from Margaret. One of them was a sandy haired boy called William. He was in my house, Gryffindor, and also a sixth year. The other was a Ravenclaw girl, who I vaguely recognized as being a fifth year. I could not recall her name.

"I just bumped into him. That's all." I collapsed in the seat next to Margaret, glancing around at my three companions. A familiar ache settled in my heart, and a flash of black hair and a wide smile flittered across my memory for an instant. Shaking my head to clear it from the dream-like memory, I came to and listened to what Will was saying.

"-hate him being a prefect. All the teachers fawn over him." Will scowled.

"You just hate him because he's given you detention twice last year," the Ravenclaw pointed out mildly. "I remember you complaining about it."

"I didn't complain!" Will retorted, his cheeks reddening slightly. "I was expressing my disgust over the situation. I hadn't done anything wrong."

"You threw a Dungbomb at a group of first years in the Great Hall. The second time you were dueling a Slytherin." Margaret smirked at him.

Will struggled to hold onto a shred of dignity. "That Slytherin was Abraxas Malfoy, the biggest pain in the-"

"How was your summer, Anna?" Margaret cut in, looking at the Ravenclaw. "Will didn't annoy you _too _much, did he?"

Anna let out a small laugh, and it suddenly clicked who she was. "A little. Nothing I couldn't handle," she assured Margaret.

"So you're Will's new step-sister?" I asked. "I remember him mentioning it at the end of fifth year."

"Yes. My mother married his father at the beginning of the summer." Anna cast an amused look at Will. "It was an interesting wedding."

"Don't you dare," Will threatened, the red in his cheeks becoming more pronounced.

"What happened?" Margaret immediately asked.

"Will snuck a couple glasses too many of firewhisky. He attempted to sing while dancing on top of a table, just after being caught flirting with the Minister of Magic's wife." Anna flashed a grin at Will, who put his head in his hands, humiliated.

Margaret looked like Christmas had come early. "Dear William! I would have never thought you to be so-"

"Don't start," Will groaned. He peeked out of his hands to glare at Anna. "I will get you back for this. I promise!"

"Have you two been like this all summer?" I asked, a grin creeping over my face. It was always nice to see Will taken down a peg or two.

"No," Will answered at the same time Anna said, "Yes."

It was silent for a moment before Anna looked at me. "How was your summer, Ella? Did you have a good time seeing your family?"

The compartment suddenly got quiet. Anna quickly realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," I interrupted. "My summer was alright. The only good part was that my orphanage was near a Muggle library. Muggle literature is fun to read sometimes, isn't it?"

Before anyone could respond, the door slid back and the cheerful face of the trolley witch appeared. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Will immediately jumped up and walked out. I also stood and walked out, intending to grab a couple Pumpkin Pasties. As Will was searching in his pockets for coins to pay for his handfuls of sweets, I glanced up, down the hall.

Tom Riddle, already dressed in his Hogwarts robes, was patrolling the corridors. As he walked this way, I began to feel uncomfortable, and immediately put myself on guard. Riddle started to pass by me, and I glanced up to see him look at me with disinterest. I gave him a small glare before I could catch myself. I watched him frown slightly, before I looked at the trolley witch, who had just finished accepting Will's gold.

After collecting my Pumpkin Pasties, I hurried back inside the compartment. Will was stuffing his face while Anna was engrossed in a book. Margaret was toying with her wand, making it shoot sparks of different colors. She looked up at me, and her eyes widened slightly. "What happened to you?"

I shook my head and concentrated on my Pumpkin Pasties. Margaret shrugged and returned to playing with her wand. Looking down at the food in my hand, I let out a sigh. _I can't explain why I dislike Tom Riddle. He's never done anything to me personally. There's just something off about him… Newt always said that my instincts were very good and to trust them. I'll have to take his word._

The image of my old friend Newt Scamander appeared in my mind. I let out a fond smile. _All through Hogwarts he was always obsessing over some sort of magical creature. We all expected him to do something with them, but instead he took that crappy job at the Ministry. _

Reaching into my carry on bag, I pulled out a copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. _Newt's name on the cover drew my eyes immediately. _When I reappeared here, I looked him up to see what happened to him after I disappeared. The lunatic; he was off chasing magical beasts and documenting them for the Ministry. Apparently, I also just missed him as Headmaster of Hogwarts. He retired from the position two years before I reappeared here. I would have had a lot of explaining to do if he was still Headmaster, though._

The window drew my gaze. The green, rolling hills looked inviting, as did the shining lake that we passed. _My time here is almost up. I have about a year and a half before the curse takes ahold of me and transport me to a different time. _Fuzzy memories of being sorted into Gryffindor plagued me; I could see Newt's disappointed face from the Hufflepuff table. The memory had a hole but I could remember Newt and I deciding to stay good friends, even though we were in separate houses.

_It was harder to leave that time than it was the previous time._ I let out a small frown. _I don't remember much from it… The more the curse moves me through time, the more memories I lose. As it is, my memories from Newt's time are becoming fewer and far between. They have almost a dream-like quality to them that makes me doubt whether or not they actually happened._

"Ella!" Blinking, I came back to myself to see Margaret waving her hand in front of my eyes. "You clocked out there on us."

"Sorry," I mumbled, stuffing Newt's book back into my bag. "It happens sometimes."

"Yeah. We know." She shook her head. "As I was saying, how do you think this year is going to go?"

"Good," I replied. "We have a year to relax before our N.E.W.T.'s. By the way, how many O.W.L.'s did you get?"

Margaret looked suddenly sheepish. "Well, I passed everything except for History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration..." The sudden memory of Margaret's cauldron exploding in the middle of the exam crossed my mind.

"It's alright," I said comfortingly. "Transfiguration and Potions are always really hard."

"Yeah, I failed it as well," Will assured her. "I passed Potions - barely. My best O.W.L.'s were Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"What about yours?" Anna asked me.

"I didn't pass History of Magic. I can't help but fall asleep in that class. I didn't pass Divination, either. That was to be expected." I let out a half-smile.

"I heard that Riddle passed all of his classes with flying colors," Anna mentioned, turning a page in her book. I was positive she said that because it would annoy Will. Sure enough, his eyes darkened and a scowl appeared on his face at the name.

"Goody two-shoes," he muttered under his breath.

"You have to admit that he's handsome," Margaret said, grinning.

I chose not to say anything, and instead left to change into my Hogwarts robes. The rest of the train ride seemed to fly by, and soon enough I found myself standing on the Hogwarts platform. Dodging the first years who were following Ogg, the groundskeeper, I followed my friends towards the carriages pulled by the thestrals.

As I caught up to them, I saw that Will was locked in a fierce argument with Abraxas Malfoy and a couple of other Slytherins. "Great," I muttered under my breath, gripping my wand, ready to defend the hot-head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Slytherin raise his wand at Will's back.

Without thinking, I swung my wand up and pointed it at the Slytherin. "_Melofors!_" I shouted. Instantly, the Slytherin's head was encased inside a pumpkin, and his wand went flying out of his grasp. There was a shocked silence before the small crowd began to laugh as the Slytherin tried unsuccessfully to tug the pumpkin off of his head.

Abraxas Malfoy had raised his wand. Before I could react, a jet of red light shot out of his wand and at me, but a Shield charm blocked it. Swinging my head around, I saw that Anna had deflected the spell for me. Will, seeing that Malfoy had tried to hex me, abandoned using his wand and instead opted for punching Malfoy in the nose.

Malfoy toppled to the ground, and the surrounding Gryffindors and Slytherins raised their wands at each other, challenges shouted and proverbial gauntlets thrown to the ground. Before any jinxes were cast, a red light hit in the middle of the group. We all fell silent as we turned to see Tom Riddle striding up, his visage disapproving and cold.

The Slytherins grinned triumphantly at each other while the Gryffindors scowled. "Fighting already?" Riddle commented with a slight sneer on his face. His eyes fell on the Slytherin with the pumpkin on his head. The Slytherin was laying on the ground, having given up trying to get it off of his head.

Riddle's eyes flicked up to me, and I could tell that he knew it was me that cast the spell. With a flick of his wand, the pumpkin on the Slytherin's head shattered, leaving the Slytherin with orange pulp and white seeds covering his face. I was half-surprised that Riddle already knew non-verbal spells, though we weren't going to learn them until this year.

"Get into the carriages," Riddle ordered, and the students surrounding the scene disbanded, albeit grudgingly. No one complained; no one was bold enough to disobey Riddle.

Turning, I quickly tried to escape into a nearby carriage, but the call of my surname made me stop. Margaret hovered near me, clearly unwilling to leave me behind, with Anna pausing in front of her. With a sigh, I looked back to see Riddle stalking up to me. I tensed. "Exactly why would you see fit to turn Mr. Goyle's head into a pumpkin?" he asked disdainfully, coming to a stop in front of me, his cold, dark eyes boring into mine.

A number of responses passed through my mind, but I decided against most of them, sure that they called for an early death if said to the prefect in front of me. "I saw it fit because he was about to hex my friend," I replied, working to keep the scowl off of my face.

He saw right through it. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor." He glanced at Will who had just come up. "As well as ten points from Gryffindor for you."

Will didn't bother to hide the glower on his face. Riddle ignored him as he turned and walked to a carriage full of his fellow Slytherins. I grabbed Will's arm and tugged him towards the carriage that Anna and Margaret were sitting in. It wasn't until the thestral began to move forward towards the castle did anyone say anything.

"Where'd you learn that spell?" Will demanded. "I've never heard of it. Turning Goyle's head into a pumpkin? Priceless."

"I read about it somewhere. Decided it was time to try it out." I shrugged, still in a foul mood over having points deducted before we even stepped foot in the castle.

"Thanks for that. Though I could have handled it. I had it all under control," Will tried to assure me. I rolled my eyes slightly, deciding to let him keep his shreds of dignity. Margaret wasn't so generous, though.

"You would have been taken out if it wasn't for Ella! Admit it."

Will obstinately opened his mouth to retort, but Anna beat him to it. "Nice punch," she said mildly.

Will paused to consider it. "Yeah… It was a nice punch, wasn't it?"

The conversation was minimal after that. As Hogwarts came into view, a deep contentment settled in me. It was good to be home. I couldn't wait to wander the halls, walk across the lawns to the greenhouses, practice magic, eat the delicious food… Memories of the good times at Hogwarts flitted through my mind swiftly, bringing a warm smile with them.

The contented feeling helped ward off the festering glares from the Slytherins, Goyle in particular. His knuckles cracked threateningly as I passed him, but he didn't dare try anything, mindful of the horde of teachers in the Great Hall. Even Goyle wasn't that stupid.

Walking through the doors into the Great Hall widened my smile immensely. No matter how many times I've done it at the beginning of the school year, spanning into the past, it always brought a source of joy and comfort at the thought of being back in the school.

Margaret nudged me. "It's good to be back, huh?" I could only nod in response.

We sat down at the Gryffindor table, and I glanced up at the staff table. Professor Dippet, who was becoming more bald every year, was chatting with the Charms teacher, Professor Hollingberry. Professor Merrythought was deep in discussion with both Professor Kettleburn and Professor Beery. Professor Slughorn was fighting back a yawn.

Before I could continue on with the examination of the staff table, Will leaned over, capturing my attention. "Several Slytherins are glaring at us right now. They look like they're itching for a fight." He looked hopeful.

"You really are the model Gryffindor," I commented idly, sneaking a peek at the Slytherin table. They were indeed glowering at us. _I guess that encasing Goyle's head in a pumpkin makes them mad. Huh._

"They got you back with house points," Margaret reminded the two of us. "The Gryffindor hourglass is already in the negatives. I checked when we were walking in."

"Blame Riddle for that," I muttered under my breath.

The door to the Great Hall opened dramatically, and the Transfiguration teacher, Professor Dumbledore, swept in with a herd of first years trailing behind him. Each first year looked more frightened than the last, and once again I was surprised about just how small they seemed to be. Dumbledore brought them up to the front of the room, his auburn beard glistening from the thousands of tiny candles suspended in mid-air over everyone's heads.

Everyone waited with bated breath, staring at the Sorting Hat sitting on the stool. After a few seconds, it opened its mouth and began to sing. Its song this year was just a description of all the different houses you could be in, just like in previous years. When it finished, everyone applauded.

Dumbledore stepped up to the stool, holding a list of parchment. "When I call your name, step forward and I'll place the Sorting Hat on your heads." He paused to consult the list. "Anderson, Walter!"

A first year practically swaggered up to the stool, placing the hat on his head. After a moment of deliberation, the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" As the Slytherin table cheered, Walter Anderson walked off towards it, a smug smirk on his face.

The list continued. A few Hufflepuffs were called, with several Gryffindors spanning in between. After a gaggle of Ravenclaws were called, Dumbledore had finally reached the last student. My stomach was grumbling loudly, and I could hear similar protests from Margaret's and Will's stomach.

After Alice Walker had been sorted into Gryffindor, Professor Dippet stood up. The hall immediately quieted. "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts!" Dippet said, smiling at us. "First off, I'd like to welcome the first years! I hope that you find fulfillment in your thirst for knowledge at our school. As for the seventh years, welcome back! We will be sorry to see you go."

"He makes this same speech every year," Will muttered crossly. "If I was Headmaster, I'd wait till after everyone has eaten, and then try to spice up the speech a little bit."

I noticed that Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes glanced at Will for a second. He let out an amused smile, as if he heard what Will had said.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of Dippet going over the rules, he sat down and the feast appeared in front of us. Will cheered for a moment before grabbing every available platter and piling everything he could reach onto his plate. Rolling my eyes, I pulled a bowl of mashed potatoes towards me.

No conversation was made around me for a while until everyone had slowed down in their feasting. To my left, the seventh year Peter Bell nudged me. "I heard about your splendid jinx towards that Slytherin." He let out a broad smile. "Wish I had been around to see it. Love a chance to see them taken down a peg or two."

"It cost us House points we haven't even earned yet," I reminded him sheepishly.

Peter snorted. "Doesn't matter to me. We'll earn 'em back. Trust me on this."

Will nodded from across me, his mouth stuffed with food. "I gwee wit Bee er."

"What'd he say?" Edith Johnson inquired from across Peter. She had been listening in on the conversation.

"'I agree with Peter'," Margaret translated. Will nodded in confirmation.

Peter led the conversation into battle plans for a duel with Slytherin. He described jinxes that I doubt even existed, walked us through several ambushes, and assured us all in certain victory against our foes. I had been listening to him in amusement. Knowing Peter, he'd try to put a number of these into action. He'd already dragged Will into a bunch of his schemes and earned numerous detentions from every single teacher in the school.

"I hope you're not talking about dueling," Catherine Phillips called from further down the table, her eyes twinkling in humor. "As Head Girl, it would be my obligation to stop this from happening."

"But you won't," Peter replied, winking.

Dinner passed in this familiar, easy manner. All too soon I found myself trudging up the moving staircases and walking up the twisting stone steps to Gryffindor tower. Approaching the Fat Lady, the three of us paused awkwardly, with several second years behind us. "What's the password?" Margaret asked.

Will rolled his eyes. "Does it look like I'm a Prefect?"

"No, but I certainly do." We turned to see Elizabeth Moore come up, her usual cheery expression in place. "Dragon's Egg," she told the Fat Lady. The portrait opened and we piled in. The squashy red armchairs were a welcoming sight, as was the roaring fire in the hearth.

"How was your summer?" I asked Elizabeth as we walked up the girl's staircase to the sixth year dorms.

"Great! I vacationed in Spain for most of it." As Elizabeth, Margaret, and I claimed beds, the door opened again and Lydia Brown walked in. Elizabeth waved at her. "Look! You can get the bed next to mine."

Lydia nodded and quietly sat down. There was little conversation between the four of us as we readied for bed. I was finally able to fall into the sheets. The pillow felt like a cloud against my head, and the bed was drastically more comfortable than the one at the orphanage. My eyes fluttered closed, warm and content for the first time since summer began.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Hello, and welcome to the first part of Time's Curse! I have a good deal of this story written already, and I will be posting more soon. If you're a little confused, then don't worry. More will be explained later. I'm planning on making each part rather long.

Romance between Tom and Ella will not happen immediately, and even then it's not fully what one would expect. I do stick by with the thought that Riddle cannot love because he was conceived under the effects of a love potion, and that will definitely come into play later in the story. Also, this story is not all about the romance. As you can see, I want to create a whole life for Ella that does not revolve around Tom (...yet...).

I hope that you liked it. Please review, and I'll see you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

><p>Breakfast found me munching my way through a piece of toast. Out of my three friends, I was the first one awake and in the Great Hall. There were other members of the houses up already and scattered about the Great Hall.<p>

Will groggily collapsed into the seat next to me after a bit. "Food," he said reverently, ladling a generous portion of scrambled eggs onto his plate before grabbing three slices of toast and pouring himself a tall glass of pumpkin juice.

"You know, I've never seen anyone eat as much as you," I commented idly, watching him shoveling his breakfast into his mouth at record speed. "It's almost as if you hadn't eaten in three days."

"I'm a growing man," Will mumbled through a bite of a muffin.

I just shook my head in amusement as more students trickled into the hall. At quarter to eight, Dumbledore walked down the table, handing out schedules to each student. "Where's Margaret?" Will asked, finally surfacing for air from his breakfast.

"Still asleep." I shrugged. "You know how she is. If she doesn't come down soon, I'll wake her up in time for her first class."

Dumbledore reached the two of us. "Ah, Miss Linden." He waved his wand over the blank sheet of parchment, and my classes appeared. "Here you go." Accepting my schedule with a word of thanks, I looked it over as Dumbledore proceeded to Will.

As Dumbledore worked to sort out Will's schedule, I finished my last bit of breakfast. Once Dumbledore had reasoned with Will's thick skull about which classes he should take, he cheerfully went on to battle with another student.

Will looked over his schedule and groaned. "Double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs."

"What's wrong with the Hufflepuffs?" I asked, confused.

"Nothing!" Will protested. "I just don't want to go to Herbology."

"What's wrong with Herbology?"

As Will floundered around, trying to come up with an answer, I grabbed his schedule out of his hands. "You have nothing to complain about! Herbology first, then a free period, then Defense Against the Dark Arts? What's wrong with today?"

Will put on a look of suffer-in-silence, and took his schedule back from me. Rolling my eyes, I studied my schedule again before standing up. "Are you done?"

He hesitated, giving the platter of sausages a longing look. Letting out a sigh, he swung his leg around the bench. "Yeah. Let's go."

As we exited the Great Hall, Will grabbed my shoulder. "Look!" Confused, I turned my head to see a bunch of Slytherins heading our way. Glancing back, I saw that my companion had an excited smile on his face while plunging his hand into his robes for his wand. "A duel!"

Seeing that Tom Riddle was in the lead, I shoved Will away from the entrance. "They're just going to breakfast. Like they'd pick a fight in front of a prefect."

"Riddle would be on their side though!" Will argued as the Slytherins approached the entrance, each scowling at us in turn except for Riddle, who didn't even spare us a glance.

I rolled my eyes. "I meant Elizabeth." I pointed to where Elizabeth was standing across from us, talking with a Hufflepuff sixth year, Charles Baker.

"Oh."

Shaking my head, I tugged his arm and we hurried up to Gryffindor Tower. Once up in the dormitory, I saw tufts of dark hair peeking out from the crimson covers. A mischievous grin crossed my face and I lifted my wand.

BANG!

The covers flew off of Margaret and hit the opposite wall. Said person shot straight up, her knotted hair hanging in her face, and her eyes bleary with sleep. "What?"

"You have," I checked my watch, "twenty minutes till classes start."

Margaret blinked at me for a moment before comprehension dawned on her face. Scrambling out of bed she raced out of the room and into the sixth and seventh year's bathroom. I chuckled while opening my trunk. Putting the necessary things into my schoolbag, I unpacked a bit. Margaret had soon returned, ready for the day. Her hair was dry and neat and she looked more alert.

"Did I miss breakfast?" she asked, grabbing her schoolbag and scrambling to collect a couple scattered quills and searching for a missing jar of ink.

I tossed it to her. "Almost. You still have time if you hurry."

She nodded and started to race towards the door in determination. "Margaret!" I called.

Margaret turned around, frustrated. "What?"

I pointed mutely to her bedside table. Grumbling to herself, Margaret walked over and grabbed her wand before going back out the door with me following behind her, a smirk on my face.

In the Entrance Hall, Margaret left me to go to Muggle Studies, while I joined Will by the door. We exited and strolled across the lawn, chatting about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts. Well, Will was chatting about it. I inserted the proper response every once in a while. I liked watching Quidditch well enough, but playing it was a different matter.

As we entered Greenhouse 6, Professor Beery was waiting for us. A couple Hufflepuffs were already there, and laughing about something. "Hello, Linden and Harrison," Beery greeted us cheerfully. "Glad to see that you're taking N.E.W.T. level Herbology!"

"I'm happy to be here, sir," I replied, while surreptitiously kicking Will. He started slightly, before mumbling something along the lines of an agreement. Beery didn't seem to notice as another Hufflepuff student entered the greenhouse, and he turned his attention to her.

Will and I positioned ourselves on the other side of the table from the Hufflepuffs. I recognized them. Rose Wood waved at me cheerfully. "Hello, Ella! How was your summer?"

"Fine. How's yours?" I asked, smiling at her.

"Great!" Rose replied enthusiastically. "My younger brother Robert entered Hogwarts this year. He's in Gryffindor."

I racked my brains. "He's the small one with brown hair, right?"

"There's three of those with that description," Will muttered to my right. I stomped on his foot, and he winced, looking at me indignantly.

Rose laughed. "Yeah, that's what he looks like. He's obsessed with Quidditch, so you might want to watch out. He'll probably attempt to tryout for Quidditch, though it's not allowed for first years."

Will straightened up, a gleam in his eyes. "A fellow Quidditch fan!"

"Or competition for your spot as Beater?" I mentioned nonchalantly, causing Will to shoot his famous scowl at me.

"Alright," Beery called. "Everyone seems to be here, so we might as well start!" He went through the curriculum with us, and explained that although we weren't taking N.E.W.T.s till the end of our seventh year, we still had to study hard for them. He concluded by telling us about our first lesson in Herbology this year - the Venomous Tentacula.

Glancing at Will during the description of this plant, I saw that he was staring at Beery, enraptured in the lesson. I grinned to myself before looking back at the Herbology professor. _Of course Will would be all for tackling with dangerous, man-eating plants. Dumbledore is one smart guy._

The lesson passed quickly and soon I found myself back inside the castle and heading down towards the dungeons, dread beginning to grow in me. Neither Will or Margaret were taking the N.E.W.T. level Potions class, and I was hoping against hope that I didn't have to have a partner in this class.

Everyone was already filling into the classroom when I made it down there, causing me to be at the back of the line. Once inside, and my eyes settled to the dim glow of the room, my heart plummeted when I saw that there were no available seats on the Gryffindor section. Elizabeth and Lydia shot me sympathetic looks as I turned to look at the Slytherin section of the room. There was only one seat available, and that was next to…

This day just took a nosedive for the worst.

Slughorn appeared behind me, making me jump. "Ah, Miss Linden. It seems that there is a seat available next to Mr. Riddle for you."

Everyone in the room turned to look at me except for my soon-to-be seatmate. Admitting defeat, I slunk over and sat in the chair next to Riddle, refusing to look at him. As Slughorn started the lesson from the front of the room, I turned my attention towards him and tried to ignore the imposing figure of the Slytherin prefect next to me.

As Slughorn finished describing the effects of the Draught of Living Death, he cheerfully released us off to go complete the potion with our partners. Reluctantly I had to admit to myself that I did in fact have to speak to Riddle. _When the curse takes me somewhere else, they had better do away with having to work with partners in Potions_. My partner had always been Margaret, which is why she always managed to have a passing grade in the class. Potions, thanks to a friend of mine from the distant past, was a strong suit of mine.

Flipping open my book to the correct page, I scanned the list of ingredients. "I'll go grab these," I muttered to the table before walking over to the student ingredient cabinet. Elizabeth and a couple Slytherins were already there. Elizabeth, hanging back while the Slytherins were busy grabbing ingredients, cast me a guilty look. "I'm sorry, Ella. I didn't-"

I waved my hand. "Don't worry about it. It's just for Potions class." The sour note in my voice didn't convince her, though. Seeing that the Slytherins had finished gathering their ingredients, I pushed my way forward and grabbed everything that I needed before returning to my seat. In my absence, Riddle had already filled the cauldron with water and added the African sea salt and was letting it sit while he examined the rest of the instructions.

I deposited the ingredients down on the table before sitting back down and dragging the book towards me, checking over the next step. I felt Riddle glance at me. "You do not need to pretend to do the work. I would rather do all the work than get a less desirable grade in this class." His tone was icy, and I felt anger boil inside of me.

I snapped my head up to glare into his cold dark eyes. "I do not need to 'pretend' to do the work, _Riddle._ I am in this class for a reason." Tense with anger, I grabbed the vial of Infusion of Wormwood and poured it into the cauldron. The liquid hissed slightly before turning a bright green.

Riddle didn't reply but I could feel his arrogant disdain without needing to look at his face. As he added the powdered root of asphodel, I picked up my wand and proceeded to make it stir two times clockwise. There was a tense silence between us for a while until I glanced over to see what he was doing.

Riddle was frowning in concentration at the Sopophorous bean, a silver knife in his hand. I smirked slightly, realizing I knew something that he didn't. "Crush it with the flat of the blade," I told him.

His eyes snapped to mine. "The instructions say cut."

"The instructions are wrong." I picked up my quill and made a note to it out of habit before turning my attention back to the cauldron.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked quietly, an edge to his voice. I noticed that he unwillingly crushed it, causing juice to pour out of it. Riddle scooped it up and tossed it into the cauldron before turning to stare at me, waiting for an answer.

I merely ignored him and picked up my wand, making the potion stir counterclockwise. When I counted to seven, I added a clockwise stir, causing the potion to become a shade of pale pink. Making a mark in my book to add a clockwise stir after the seven counterclockwise, I put my quill down. Sighing in relief that the potion was finished, I leaned back in my chair and glanced around to the other cauldrons in the room, determinedly ignoring the Slytherin prefect beside me. No one had achieved the proper shade like our potion…

When I chanced a glance at Riddle, I noticed that he was staring at the book where I had changed the instructions. He looked at me, and gave me a charismatic smile that made me hesitate in surprise. "You must be good at Potions," he said. His face looked more welcoming and the smile seemed to light up the room.

Irritation swept through me. I knew what he was trying to do. Letting out a huff, I grabbed my Potions book and rifled through the pages, looking for something to occupy my time with and hopefully make Riddle leave me alone.

Pain pierced in the centre of my forehead, and I stiffened. Immediately, I let the song _Dies Irae_ from Mozart's _Requiem_ fill my mind. The orchestra and booming voices of the choir drowned out any other thought or picture. My eyes flashed up to Riddle's, who looked slightly taken aback, before smoothing his features into a blank mask. The pain disappeared, and I warily let the music fade.

Riddle turned to face the front, acting like nothing had happened. I was on my guard, though. Knowing that Riddle could do Legilimency earned him another point of suspicion, and especially the fact that he used it on me. I had to be careful around him. If he was to find out about the curse… _Looks like I'll need to find someone to teach me Occlumency. Why didn't I leap at the chance when Edgar Ward offered all those years ago?_

Slughorn stopped in front of our cauldron, beaming as soon as he caught sight of the color. He delicately dropped the leaf he had been holding into our cauldron, and we watched as it disintegrated. "Ten points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin!" Slughorn boomed in delightment. "A wonderfully made potion. I would expect nothing less from my two top Potions students!"

"Thank you, sir," Riddle said in the charming voice he reserved for teachers and the rest of the student body. _Was it because he knew I already distrusted him that he didn't bother to use it on me? _

Before Slughorn could say anything, the bell rang. Immediately I stuffed my things into my book bag and swept out of the room, hurrying up the stone steps out of the dungeons and into the Entrance hall. Taking a deep breath to steady my fluttering heart, I walked into the Great Hall for lunch.

Out of my friends, I was the first one there. Seating myself in my usual spot along the table, I pulled a platter of chicken towards me, moodily piling things onto my plate, losing myself in my thoughts. _I've liked being in this time. It's been fun going through Hogwarts with Will and Margaret. I feel like I need to be careful, though. Something about Riddle doesn't seem normal. _I thought back to all the classes Slytherin and Gryffindor had together over the years, and to the scuffle by the carriages. _He's gifted at magic, more than what I've seen in a long time. That one I need to watch. I don't want to know what would happen if he was to find out about my curse._

I took another deep breath. _Just get through the next year and a half. May 2, 1945. That's when I leave this time. Then I won't have to ever deal with Tom Riddle again._

"What's got you in such a mood?" Margaret asked, settling herself next to me on the bench. "How was Potions? Glad to be rid of it, personally."

"I'm partnered with Riddle," I muttered to my plate.

Margaret stopped and stared at me. "Are you joking?" At the sight of my expression, she said, "Okay, not joking."

"Not joking about what?" Will piped up, seating himself across from us and pulling a platter of sandwiches towards him. "I'm _starving_."

"Riddle and Ella are partners in Potions," Margaret informed him.

Will paused in chewing, gaping at me. After a moment, a grin curled around his face. "Dis is gweat!" He paused for a moment, swallowing, before returning to say, "Ella! You have an opportunity. Find out his weakness so we can defeat him in battle!"

"You've been hanging out with Peter too much," I told him crossly.

"It's a tradition!" Will sounded insulted. "Gryffindors and Slytherins must continue to battle for years to come!"

"I'll make sure of that," I mumbled into my drink.

"Anyway, we have DADA after lunch. That's always fun to go to," Margaret said, steering the conversation away from my unfortunate Potions experience.

Will brightened. "Maybe we'll learn more jinxes!"

"Or maybe about a Dark creature," I said mildly.

"Leave that to Care of Magical Creatures. I want to learn more about fighting." Will was adamant in this. "Maybe we could form a dueling club. Didn't there used to be one?"

"It got disbanded after several brawls between Slytherins and Gryffindors happened. It was a little too intense, apparently." I grinned at the memory. Hugh Turner had been in the middle of it all. Will reminded me a lot of him; both were the model Gryffindor.

Will was not to be deterred. "I'm sure that we can convince Dippet to let us form one again."

Margaret nodded thoughtfully. "It _would_ be fun, you have to admit."

My mind flashed to hazy memories of dueling. I had always signed up whenever it was offered. I grinned slightly as a dim memory of me blasting Hugh off his feet with an incantation passed through my mind. _Maybe this would be a good idea after all._

My companions chatted about plans for the dueling club. Peter, who was coming from his Transfiguration class, was immediately interested in the idea and helped plan, slipping in different jinxes he thought would work against particular Slytherin students. "What is with everyone being obsessed with battling Slytherins in this time?" I muttered into my pumpkin juice.

* * *

><p>AN

Hello, and welcome back to the next chapter! Thank you for all the follows and favorites, and a big thank you to Guest, Extended Experience, and Cassie-D1 for your reviews! I'm really glad that you like my story so far!

I should have the next chapter up pretty soon.

Please review!

(Any fellow Sherlockians out there who are excited/scared for the third episode tomorrow?)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>My first week being back at Hogwarts passed in a blur. I quickly settled into the familiar routine and was happy. No matter where or when I traveled through the curse, Hogwarts was always there to welcome me home.<p>

I was dreading the next Potions class and having to sit next to Tom Riddle, but he had decided to ignore my presence. Luckily, we didn't brew a potion during class, but instead took notes and listened to Slughorn's lecture. When the bell rang to leave the class, after being assigned an essay to write for the following lesson, I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't have Potions again until next week.

The weekend found me wandering the corridors of Hogwarts aimlessly, just happy to be back in the school and out of the Muggle orphanage. Every time period the curse took me to, I would show up at an orphanage. None of them really cared where I came from, and they took me in. The current one I was staying at during the summer was a desolate, depressing place. I usually spent my time wandering through London or spending it at the Muggle library down the street. Muggle literature had always been a guilty pleasure of mine, as I liked the imagination that some Muggles possessed.

Coming to, I found myself somewhere on the fourth floor. The corridor was thin and narrow, with hordes of portraits lining the walls. In front of me, the corridor took a sharp turn to the left.

"Ella Linden!" a thin, reedy voice called. "Yes, I remember you! I remember all of my old students, need I remind you? Oh yes, those were the days. That was when Charms was actually taught by a _competent_ teacher; not the fool who dare calls himself a Professor!"

To my shock, a portrait hung just in front of me of my old Charms professor, Archibald Wadd. My eyes drifted over his wrinkled, bald head, to his favorite plum-colored robes, and his squinting brown eyes. "Hello, Professor," I said politely. _That's right. I think I remember him insisting that he would have a portrait of him hung in the school. Old codger. Just my luck that he also remembers every student. He would tell us stories about students from the dawn of time when he first started teaching._

"You look not a day over thirteen." His eyes squinted even more. "You already finished school. Why are you back when you should be going on at least fifty?" Wadd suddenly snorted. "Unless you managed to figure out the proper concoction for a potion of life!"

"Erm…" My mind went blank. What could I say? I had never been faced with this problem before. "I'm sixteen, sir."

"Irrelevant!" Wadd snapped. "I suppose you also claim that you time-traveled? Ha!"

A solution suddenly revealed itself. "I'm actually her daughter." This would get messy if he didn't believe me. If Wadd found out about the curse and told anyone...

From the skeptical look on his face I could tell he didn't really believe me, but decided to change the subject anyway. "When I asked to be made a portrait, I expected to be hung somewhere where I could have some company that didn't involve insipid paintings of equally dull inhabitants!"

"Can't you just walk out of your portrait and visit someone else's?" I inquired, relieved that we had moved away from dangerous ground.

Wadd shot me a withering look. "Why would I want to visit those babbling buffoons? You are as thick-headed as I remember, Miss Linden. Or at least your supposed mother." He snorted.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and I jumped. Dread began to pool in my stomach as I saw Tom Riddle standing in the corridor, his face blank. The member of the portrait in front of me also sighted the tall Slytherin prefect. "Aha! Another student come to learn from a competent teacher! My name is Archibald Wadd, the best Charms teacher this school has ever seen."

Riddle's eyes flicked towards me. "A pleasure," he said smoothly.

Deciding it was time for me to leave, I turned on my heel to escape down the corridor. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, Miss Linden!" Wadd called sharply. "Regardless of whether it was you or your mother that I taught, I want some sane company. I demand you come back and visit me."

"Yes, sir," I threw over my shoulder before hurrying on my way.

Dimly, I could hear Wadd talking to Riddle. "Back in my day, I taught an Ella Linden. That girl looks exactly like her. Supposedly her daughter. Oh yes, I remember every single student that I ever taught…" His voice faded away as I retreated farther away from that corridor.

Once I was sure that I was far enough away from Wadd and Riddle, I slowed down in my step, clenching my fist. "_Damn it._" Taking a deep breath, I leaned against a nearby windowsill, providing a beautiful view of the lake, which glittered in the sunlight. _This could turn out very badly. I'm hoping that Riddle will dismiss it as nothing. He has to. _

A memory of Newt's smiling face flashed through my mind. _Newt was right. My instincts are very good, and I have a feeling that something bad will happen if he does find out. I won't let it happen._

Determination fueled my step, and I walked through the corridors and out of the school. I knew that Margaret and Will would be by our favorite willow tree. Sure enough, I found Margaret chatting animatedly with Elizabeth and Lydia, while Anna had her nose in a book, her back against the tree's trunk. Will was in the midst of a rowdy conversation with two other Gryffindor sixth year boys, Jasper and Austin. The latter of the two was burly with short brown hair, while Jasper was slender and very tall. His dark blonde hair was getting rather long again, though I doubted he would cut it anytime soon.

"Ella! Where've you been?" Margaret called, beaming at me.

I shrugged. "Just around." I plopped down on the ground and stared out across the lake, noticing one of the squid's tentacles had surfaced above the water. A hazy memory surfaced of a girl with wild, curly black hair being tossed in the air by the Giant Squid. _I can't remember her name, but I'm pretty sure she was dared to try and ride it. _

Austin followed my gaze to the Squid. "Hey, Jazz! I dare you to annoy the Squid."

Jazz snorted. "Your dares are sad and flimsy. Why would I bother doing a thing like that?"

"Jasper's scared! Jasper's scared!" Margaret began to chant, with Elizabeth and Austin immediately joining in.

"Am not!" Jasper retorted. "I could do it if I wanted to. I'm the only one here who's brave enough."

Will immediately perked up, sensing that his manly Gryffindor pride was on the line. "No way! I can do it in a heartbeat!"

"Then why don't you?" Jazz challenged, a smirk on his face.

Will straightened up. "Alright, I will!" His back stiff with determination, he marched off towards the edge of the lake, pulling out his wand.

A chuckle escaped me as I turned to look at Jazz, who was smirking triumphantly. "You manipulated that situation quite nicely."

Jasper winked at me. "I know."

The six of us watched as Will began to freeze the part of the lake where the Giant Squid had its tentacles waving lazily in the air. As soon as the ice touched one of them, they were immediately retracted back into the water. We all held our breath, but nothing happened. Will began to turn to face us, a satisfied smirk on his face.

A large wave of water crashed down on top of him, soaking him to the bone instantly. There was a moment of stunned silence before all of us began to roar with laughter as Will fled back to the safety of our group under the willow tree, drenched in water and scowling with rage. Margaret was practically rolling on the ground, tears of mirth springing from her eyes. "He went running scared! Did you see that?!"

"I was not scared!" Will protested. "I- I just decided to come back to talk to you."

"Naturally. It had nothing to do with the fact that the Giant Squid retaliated to your little 'prank'. Of course." Anna turned a page in her book, grinning widely.

Will's scowl intensified as he waved his wand over himself, casting a drying spell. He accidentally exaggerated his wand movements, and his robes caught fire. "_Aguamenti_," I said firmly, pointing my wand at the burning robes. They were instantly smothered with water, leaving Will drenched - again.

"I can't win," Will moaned as he sank to the ground, content to sulk with whatever dignity he had left. Elizabeth took pity on the fool. With a deft wave of her wand, his robes were dry once more. "Thanks," Will muttered grudgingly.

Austin nudged Jasper and whispered something in his ear, to which Jasper smirked. Turning my attention away from them, I absentmindedly began to tear up grass. It was a beautiful day out. It seemed to make my worries and burdens disappear in the beautiful sunlight. The sudden image of Riddle appeared in my mind, and I grimaced.

_He won't think anything of it. He has better things to do. _

I sighed quietly before laying on my back and looking at the sky.

_Potions on Monday will certainly be interesting. _

* * *

><p>AN

Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Midterms are coming up next week for me. Anyone else having theirs as well?

Thank you to all my reviewers! I'm so glad that you like my story so far. I hope to see you all in the next chapter!

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>"Look!" Will grabbed my arm and tugged me over to the notice board. "Quidditch tryouts are this Saturday!" He jabbed at a piece of parchment pinned to the board, underneath an informational flyer about the Gobstones Club.<p>

"Good luck," I said, running my eyes over it before landing on another piece of paper tacked to the board. "Hey, the first Hogsmeade visit is next weekend!"

"Excellent!" Josephine, a fifth year, leaned around me to peer at the notice. "I need to visit Zonkos. I'm nearly out of Dungbombs."

"It's only the beginning of the second week. What happened to all of them?" I asked, puzzled. Jo was a known prankster, and last Tuesday she had shown me her huge collection of everything from Dungbombs to trick wands. I had been on the receiving side of her pranks a few years previous before she decided that she respected me.

Jo shrugged. "I'm not sure. They went missing. I did hear that someone set off a hoard of them in Carpe's office, though." Her eyes twinkled mischieviously, and I had an inkling of who was the culprit behind it.

I let out a laugh, shaking my head slightly. "You know that Carpe is just looking for a chance to get Dippet to expel you."

She snorted. "That caretaker is a hundred years, give or take a few years. He won't be able to catch me." Jo tucked a lock of her unruly brown hair behind her ears. "Anyway, off to breakfast. See you around, Ella."

"Speaking of breakfast…" Will looked at me hopefully.

I sighed. "Let me go wake up Margaret first. She should eat something."

"Mother hen," Will grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms, annoyed that breakfast would have to wait.

By the time I had coaxed Margaret out of bed and into her clothes for the day, Will was pacing the floor. "About bloody time!" he growled when he saw the two of us before making a beeline for the portrait hole. "I'm _starving._"

"You hear that?" Margaret muttered as we exited the common room, walking towards the Great Hall. "He's _starving._"

I elbowed her. "Be nice."

When we reached the Great Hall, we found Will deep in conversation with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Cora Russell. I had only spoken to the seventh year a handful of times, and found her to be likeable but intense. She was as passionate about Quidditch as Will was, and from what Will had told me, she was a very good Captain. She played as a Chaser on the team.

"He'll be there forever," Margaret muttered, sweeping past him and collapsing on the bench. Her eyes were still bleary with sleep. "Why did you wake me up so early again?"

"So you can eat breakfast." My eyes swept over the Great Hall. The Hall was filling rapidly as more and more students began to awaken and come downstairs to eat. My eyes landed on Abraxas Malfoy, who had adopted a sour visage. He was stabbing moodily at his porridge. _What got his knickers in a twist?_ My eyes strayed to the other Slytherins surrounding them. I only recognized Goyle, Nott, and Avery. Nott and Avery were in sixth year as well.

I felt a prickling sensation, as if someone was watching me. Frowning, I looked around for the source, but was unable to find it. Shaking it off as nothing, I returned to my table and breakfast, only to find that Margaret had fallen asleep. Her head rested on her arm, and her sleeve was in a pile of ketchup. I removed the offending condiment and roused my friend from her slumber.

"What do you have first?" Margaret asked, yawning as she reached for the platter of eggs.

"Herbology." I watched as she scooped a generous portion on her plate, then winced as she poured ketchup over it. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" Margaret glanced up, confused.

I shook my head. "Nevermind."

"Good morning," Elizabeth greeted us as she and Lydia sat down.

"Nott is staring at you," Lydia said softly to me. I jerked my head up to the Slytherin table to see Nott hastily turn his head and enter in a whispered conversation with Avery. Abraxas Malfoy turned his head to listen in before lifting his head to stare at me, a cold look on his face.

"They look like they're plotting to murder you," Margaret said, becoming more awake at this new development.

"Who's going to murder who?" Jasper and Austin appeared at the table. Austin mumbled a greeting before plopping down on the bench and grabbing a piece of toast.

"Slytherins are itching for a fight with Ella," Elizabeth explained, waving her fork in the air. "They'd better not do it in front of me. I'd give them all detentions and take points off of Slytherin."

"They're too smart for that," Lydia reminded her friend.

"Unfortunately," Austin muttered, yawning.

"Shouldn't we be more concerned about this?" Margaret asked, staring around at our friends.

Jasper snorted. "You've seen Ella in DADA, right? She'll be fine. Besides, from what I heard about what happened at the carriages, it's the Slytherins that need to worry."

"I'm right here," I mumbled into my pumpkin juice.

"We know," Jazz assured me, reaching for the jam.

Will plopped down next to Austin, released from his impromptu Quidditch meeting with Cora. "Another Monday has come again." His face turned sour.

"You finished your Charms homework, right?" Margaret watched in glee as Will's face slowly turned horrified. "You have," she checked her watch, "fifteen minutes before class starts."

"I have Herbology first." His face brightened. "I can skip Herbology, and fini-"

"No." I pointed my jam-covered knife at him. "No skipping classes, especially on the second week."

Will slunk lower in his seat, his face sour. "Fine."

"Well, don't procrastinate, and you won't have this problem!" Elizabeth's cheerful complexion didn't match the foul mood surrounding the sixth year.

I rolled my eyes, pushing my empty plate away from me. "I'll see you in Herbology." Grabbing my bookbag, I slung it over my shoulder and exited the Great Hall, shaking my head slightly at my friend's actions. _Never a dull moment, I suppose._ Exiting the school, I began down the path. Glancing at my watch, I saw I had about ten minutes before I had to be in the greenhouses.

I changed my route and walked down to the edge of the lake. The water was still this morning, and the squid was nowhere to be found. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the crisp morning air. _Mornings have always been my favorite time of day. Everything is so still and peaceful._ I smiled fondly when I thought of my old friend, Clara Martin. _She was the one who got me to get up early every morning to appreciate them. I don't remember how long ago that was. I wonder what happened to her. Is she still alive, and if so, does she still get up early every morning to see the sun rise?_

"No friends to hide behind, huh, Linden!" I groaned internally when I heard the jeering tone behind me. My hand strayed to my pocket where my wand was safely stowed as I turned around to meet my antagonist.

Goyle, Malfoy, and Nott all stood there, their wands out and ready for use. "Is there something I can do for you three?" I asked guardedly, my hand gripping the hilt of my wand.

"No," Goyle said, his troll-like face smirking. "We're going to get you back for the pumpkin."

"I didn't realize that it took the three of you against a simple girl like me." I took a careful step backward, my eyes quickly scanning the area for any help. My heart began sinking when I realized that none was available.

"We're just here to watch," Malfoy told me, a smug look on his pointed face.

Goyle raised his wand, his lips pulling back, and I whipped my wand out, ready to deflect whatever curse he shot at me…

"Good morning," a pleasant voice said.

Our heads snapped up to see Professor Dumbledore standing there, a serene smile on his face, as if he wasn't about to witness a duel. The three Slytherins immediately lowered their wands and took a couple steps back, not about to pick a fight in front of the Transfiguration teacher. I slowly lowered my wand, making sure that the danger had passed.

"Shouldn't you three be in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Dumbledore inquired of the three boys across from me.

"Yes, sir," Malfoy muttered. They turned around and started walking up towards the castle, Goyle shooting a venomous look at me. I let out a sigh of relief as I watched them walk away before turning my attention to the teacher in front of me.

"I do love morning strolls," Dumbledore said offhandedly, coming to stand next to me and stare out across the lake. "They're peaceful and quiet." His piercing blue eyes flashed to me.

A strange urge to laugh bubbled inside me. "Yes, sir. I agree."

I had always liked the Transfiguration teacher. He always had an amiable smile on his face, though his work was usually difficult. I had always nonetheless liked his class and the teacher, finding him easy to talk to. I watched as he brought out a pocket watch and flipping the cover open. "A strange thing, time," he said musingly.

I froze, my eyes widening slightly. _Does he know?_ _How…?_

"I remember you saying that you wanted to become a magizoologist. Is that still your wish?" Dumbledore regarded me with curious eyes.

My mind flashed to an image of Newt Scamander. _Newt grinned at me broadly before answering my question about how his career-advice meeting went. "I told them I wanted to ride a dragon off into the sunset. I got detention, naturally." _

_He did eventually become a magizoologist…_ "Yes, sir."

"Good, good. I wish you luck in your classes and I hope that you reach your goal." He peered at me shrewdly and I scuffed my foot in the ground awkwardly.

"Thank you, sir. I will try." To my relief, the bell rang.

"Off you go to class." He watched as I began walking up the hill towards the greenhouses, my head whirling. _It's not that I don't like Dumbledore; I do, a lot. It's just that I don't want anyone finding out my secret about the curse. I feel like he knows that something is up._

"Where were you?" Will asked as I entered the greenhouse and took my place beside him. "We couldn't find you."

"Lydia saw that three of the Slytherins left after you did," Elizabeth added from the other side of Will. "We thought that something had gone wrong."

"Well, they almost attacked me." Austin, Elizabeth, Will, Lydia, and Jasper all looked at me with disbelief. Even Richard, the Gryffindor's sixth year prefect, glanced at me in surprise, hearing my last comment. "Dumbledore turned up before they could. They ran off rather quickly after that."

"Good ol' Dumbledore," Jasper voiced, pumping his fist in the air.

"Ella could have fought them off," Elizabeth said firmly. "She's really good at dueling."

"Three against one?" Will questioned.

"I have no idea if I could have managed to fight them off, but I guess now we won't find out, huh?" I shook my head slightly, pulling on my dragon-hide gloves.

"I should have gone with you." Will sighed, crestfallen. "Maybe next time…"

"Stop hanging around Peter!" Elizabeth and I said at the same time, while Lydia rolled her eyes at how pugnacious Will was. Before Will could object, Professor Beery entered and began the lesson. Today we were learning about the Snargaluff plant, and how to extract the pods inside of it. Beery went on to explain about the pods' uses in medicine, and what we would be doing with them this year. He concluded the lesson with words of caution as to how dangerous the plant could be, and to tread with caution.

Will turned to me, his eyes glowing. "Let's do this!" He strode over towards our designated Snargaluff plant, which resembled a gnarled, dead stump. I grabbed him by the back of his robes and tugged him back towards the table. "What?" he whined.

"Put on your dragon-hide gloves," I told him, pushing them into his hands. "You'll regret it if you don't."

"Alright, alright," Will said impatiently, snapping the gloves on. "Let's go!" He eagerly rushed over to the plant, ready to do battle with it. Rolling my eyes, I followed more slowly. All around the greenhouse, Snargaluff plants were springing to life and attacking the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. I caught sight of Rose gripping onto a pulsating, green pod while Charles Baker beat the vines back. Next to us, the three other Gryffindor boys were bravely combating their plant until Richard stuck his hand inside the curtain of vines to withdraw a pod.

As I turned back to our plant, alarm coursed through me. Will had already made it spring to life, and he was tussling with the vines bravely, ignoring the fact that one of them had wrapped around his ankle. "You idiot!" I yelled, leaping forward, just as the vines around his ankle snapped upwards. Will let out a yell as he dangled upside down for a moment before it dropped him to the ground.

The vines turned on me next. The prickly vines scratched my face as it whipped by me, and I beat them away with a pair of secateurs. Will was slowly sitting up, his lip bleeding, before jumping to his feet to assist me. Together we fought off the vines before I was able to grab one of the pods. Instantly, the vines withdrew into the stump, leaving the two of us panting and scratched up.

I glared at Will, who looked sheepish. "Idiot! Why didn't you wait for me?" His lip was bleeding rather badly, and he was trying to keep weight off of his ankle. He mumbled something under his breath that I didn't quite catch, and didn't care enough to ask him to repeat himself. Turning, I opened the pod and extracted the green tubers inside, dumping them into a bowl.

Beery walked over to inspect us, his eyebrow raising as he took in the state of our clothes and minor injuries. "Being careless, I see?" His eyes strayed to Will's ankle just as the bell rang. "Miss Linden, would you help Mr. Harrison to the Hospital Wing, please? I believe that Madam Walsh should attend to his ankle."

"Yes, sir," I replied, taking hold of Will's arm and tugging him towards where we stowed our bookbags.

"I can get there by myself," Will mumbled obstinately as I collected our bags.

"Yeah, sure." I grasped his arm and led him out of the greenhouse. He protested at first, but then grudgingly accepted that a little bit of support was needed to walk. We went up the path and into the Entrance Hall.

Elizabeth was hovering there with Lydia. "I'll tell Slughorn that you're going to be a little late," she told me, her eyes shining with amusement as she glanced at Will. "It doesn't hurt _too_ much, does it, Will?"

Will straightened up as best as he could. "It doesn't hurt one bit!" He winced as he put a little bit too much weight on it.

Elizabeth laughed and Lydia smirked. "Oh, Will." She waved at me. "See you in Potions, Ella!"

After a while, I finally managed to drop Will off in the Hospital Wing, where Madam Walsh mended his ankle in an instant. Will said a hasty goodbye before speeding off towards Gryffindor Tower to grab his broom and practice in his free period. I walked back down towards the Entrance Hall before descending into the Dungeons.

I paused outside the Potions classroom, realizing that my robes were torn and dirty, and I could feel scratches on my cheek stinging slightly. I took a second to repair my robes and get rid of the dirt before entering the classroom. There was chatter from the other students as they brewed a potion with their partners.

"Ah, Miss Linden!" Slughorn appeared out of nowhere. "Miss Moore told me about you escorting Mr. Harrison to the Hospital Wing."

"Yes, sir. Sorry I'm late."

He waved it away. "Don't worry about it. We're busy brewing a Girding Potion, which gives the brewer extra endurance. I believe Mr. Riddle has already started." He walked towards his desk, and with a sinking heart, I walked towards mine.

Riddle was indeed in the middle of creating the potion. He regarded me out of the corner of his eye as he poked at the fire underneath the cauldron. As I took out my copy of _Advanced Potion-Making,_ I watched as the potion began to turn blue. Shuffling the book open to the right page, I examined the list of steps until I found where he was.

_7. Add the toasted dragonfly thoraxes until the potion turns silver._

I pulled the correct amount of dragonfly thoraxes towards me and toasted them quickly with my wand. Once I was sure that the potion was blue enough, I dropped them in, one at a time, until the potion turned a bright silver color.

I prodded the fire with my wand, heating up the potion so it'd turn a red. I felt the Slytherin prefect look over at me. "Did you have fun fighting the Snargaluff plants in Herbology?" Riddle smirked as he eyed my scratched cheek.

"Pass the doxy eggs," I said, ignoring his comment. Instead of acknowledging my request, Riddle measured out and added three measures of doxy eggs to the potion himself. I added the dragonfly thoraxes, and Riddle heated the potion. As much as I disliked the Slytherin, I couldn't help but admit that I liked the fact that I had a Potions partner who knew what they were doing. I was used to doing everything for Margaret, who was hopeless at Potions.

"Are there no changes to be made to the potion?" Riddle's sarcasm was veiled with deliberate innocence.

Once again, I ignored his comment as I added the final ingredient: three flying seahorses. As Riddle heated the potion for the last time, I couldn't help but frown. _I remember it being gold last time I brewed it… Or was that another potion? I don't remember… I don't think there is anything that needs to be added. _

"Your potions should be almost finished by this time," Slughorn called from the front of the room. Our potion was now a brilliant emerald, yet a foul odor emanated from it. _I do remember that it has a foul smell, but what was it about turning gold? _My eyes fell on the list of ingredients that needed to be added. _Fairy wings… Doxy eggs… Dragonfly thoraxes… Flying seahorses… _My eyes widened. _Yes, this is the correct way to brew the potion, but didn't adding salamander's blood help strengthen it?_

I jumped out of my seat and hurried towards the cabinet, grabbing a vial of salamander's blood before going back to the desk. Riddle watched, an unreadable expression on his face, as I uncorked the vial of salamander's blood. Before I could add it, Slughorn appeared. "Ah! Miss Linden, Mr. Riddle, what do you have for me today?" He paused, staring at the vial in my hand, which hovered over the cauldron.

Suddenly, he let out a bout of laughter, grabbing the vial out of my hand. "Five points to Gryffindor! Salamander's blood does have rejuvenating properties, and in collaboration with the other ingredients in the potion, would work splendidly! Let's see." He tipped the vial over, letting the liquid spill into the cauldron. The potion let off a hiss of steam before turning a deep gold. The odor was slightly less foul than it was.

Slughorn boomed with laughter again. "Perfect! Another five points to Gryffindor for a very well-made potion. Oh, yes, and five points to Slytherin!" With another chuckle, he moved on to another student's potions. Sneaking a glance at Jasper and Austin's potion at the table to the left, I winced sympathetically when I saw that their potion was more of an acid green and was hissing.

"Tell me, Miss Linden," Riddle said, drawing my gaze to him, "where did you learn so much about Potions?" His question seemed innocent enough, but I couldn't help but feel like he had an ulterior motive. "I'm sure that one of your parents must have excelled at Potions while they were in school."

"I read," I said simply, closing my textbook and placing it back inside my bag, ignoring the latter half of the question.

Of course Riddle noticed. He seemed to notice everything. A slight smirk played across the edges of his face. "I'm curious; what are-"

Before he could finish his question, the bell rang. I quickly grabbed my bag and made my way out of the classroom, hurrying towards the Great Hall for lunch. To my relief, Riddle didn't pursue his questioning, and I was able to enjoy the walk in peace.

* * *

><p>AN

Hello, everyone! I apologize for the wait. Life was hectic for a while, and will continue to be hectic for the next couple of weeks. Between jazz festivals, more homework, and starting an online class for creative writing, my hands are full. I'm so glad that you all are liking this story. Every review makes me smile.

I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>"Look at that sunshine. <em>Look at that sunshine<em>! Hardly a cloud in the sky. Gentle wind." Will nearly bounced up and down in his step. He was decked out in red and gold Quidditch gear and was gripping his beaten-up broom in one hand and his Beater's bat in the other. "Amazing day for Quidditch tryouts!"

"What if you don't get onto the team?" Margaret asked innocently, looking up at him with mischievous eyes.

Will scowled down at her. "Of course I'm going to get on! Austin and I are the best Beaters Hogwarts has ever seen!"

"Well, Robert Wood is going to sneak onto the pitch and try out. Word says that he's going to try for the spot as Beater." Margaret's comment was almost too innocent.

Will's scowl deepened. "First years aren't allowed to try out! There's no way that he's going to best me at being Beater." He strode ahead of us, muttering to himself. Margaret giggled while I just fondly shook my head at my friend's antics.

"Oi, Will!" Stuart Richards, a fifth year, waved cheerfully at our friend. "Ready for tryouts?"

"I was born ready!" Will hurried to meet up with Stuart and Edmund. They both played as Chasers the previous year, and Stuart was confident that he would make it back on the team. I wasn't sure about Edmund, who kept quiet most of the time.

"Why did he want us to come along?" Margaret muttered to me as we stood a little ways from their conversation.

I shrugged a small smile on my face. "I'm just coming along to enjoy the fresh air."

"And what wonderful fresh air it is!" Donna Clark came to stand next to the two of us, her blue eyes glowing. "Perfect day for flying."

"I wish you luck today, Donna," I said, smiling. "I'm sure you'll make it on."

Donna shrugged modestly. "There could always be someone better. That's why even though we were on the team last year we still need to try out this year."

"So it's really only a Seeker you need?" I asked curiously.

Donna nodded. "Yes. Basil graduated last year, so the spot is open." She lowered her voice and leaned in towards us. "I hear that Malcolm is gunning for the spot. I don't want him on the team, though. He's rude and arrogant."

"Yeah, I can see how that'd be a problem," Margaret agreed, glancing around.

"I'm sure that Cora won't let him on the team," I said comfortingly.

"Who do you want on the team?" Margaret asked.

Before Donna could reply, Cora beat her to it. "Are you lot going to stand around and chat all day or are we going to go fly?" The three of us looked up to see the rest of the students who were trying out had arrived in the courtyard, decked out in their Quidditch gear. Cora Russell stood to my immediate right, waving the group forward. "Let's go, already!"

"Not so fast, Russell!" Everybody turned to look as the Slytherin Quidditch Captain strode up, his team behind him. A smug look was on his face. _What was his name again? _"Slytherin tryouts are today."

"What?" Cora was outraged. "We specifically booked the pitch for today! You lot need to clear off!"

"Who's going to make us? You?" a plump boy called, snickering. He looked to be no more than thirteen.

"Maybe we will!" Will snarled, pushing his way to the front.

_Not again…_

"Aren't you just itching for a fight, Harrison?" Abraxas Malfoy shoved the plump kid out of his way. "Perhaps we should give one to you?" He pulled out his wand from inside his robes, Will immediately following suit.

"_No!_" Cora hissed, stepping in front of Will. "You're going to have to get permission from Dippet, Walton, before you set foot on that pitch. We have it for today."

"Are you going to stop us, then?" Malfoy jerked his head towards Cora, smirking. "Pathetic."

"I'll show you pathetic!" Will jumped out from behind Cora and fired off a jinx at Malfoy, who immediately deflected it with his wand. The smirk slipped off his face, as he raised his wand to retaliate, ignoring Cora's order of _"STOP!"_

I pulled out my wand and shielded the curse for Will, coming to stand next to him. The curse rebounded and hit Malfoy square in the chest. Malfoy immediately began to do a jig, his feet dancing uncontrollably. "HA!" Will pumped his fist in the air. "Don't mess with the Gryffindors!" The members of my house were laughing at Malfoy, but Walton and the rest of their team raised their wands at us.

"Fighting _again_?" a voice drawled. Everybody stopped to see Riddle standing outside of the school with a raised eyebrow. He flicked his wand and Malfoy stopped dancing. Riddle's eyes landed on Will, Cora, and I standing there, with the rest of the Gryffindors hanging back. "Twenty points from Gryffindor." He looked steadily at me. "You, Miss Linden, can have detention."

"_What?_" Will shouted furiously while my friends behind me started whispering. "She was just defending me from Malfoy's jinx, you old codger!" Everybody from Gryffindor froze in shock while the Slytherins grinned with anticipation.

Riddle took slow, measured steps towards my foolish friend, twirling his wand in his long, thin fingers. His visage was cold and his eyes fixed on Will. I tensed, gripping my wand, ready to defend Will if the situation called for it, though I doubted my ability to duel against Riddle.

I could have sworn I saw Will gulp as Riddle came to a stop in front of him. "Detention for you as well, Mr. Harrison." He leaned closer to Will's face, and Will took a slight step back. "I suggest that if you value your… _freedom_… you will _not_ mock me again." _I could have sworn that he was going to say something other than freedom…_

Will gave a small nod, seemingly unable to speak. Without a word, Riddle turned around and walked towards the doors to the Entrance Hall. The Slytherins, grinning widely, pushed their way through the Gryffindors and walked out of the courtyard towards the Quidditch pitch. Unsurprisingly, no one tried to stop them.

I turned to look at Will, who was staring at the spot where Riddle disappeared into the school. "I have said this many times before, and will say it again; you are an _idiot_."

"He's going to give you the worst detention that he can think of," Margaret added, walking up to us. "I'm sure that he can be pretty creative as well."

Cora turned to face the Gryffindors, her face tight. "We'll have tryouts tomorrow. In the morning, before the Hufflepuffs. If any of you-" she shot a venomous look at Will, "-gets into a duel with a Slytherin before that time, you are not allowed on the team." She stalked off inside the castle. After a moment, different Gryffindors began to trickle away from the group.

"Bloody hell," Will muttered, storming out of the courtyard and out towards the covered bridge.

"Will?" Her face worried, Margaret hurried after our friend, leaving me with Donna.

"That went well," Donna said mildly.

"Yeah. Sure." I shook my head. "I'll see you later, Donna. I'd better go find the idiot before he gets into anymore trouble." I hurried off after the two of them. I was led across the covered bridge and down near the grounds where Ogg had his house that he lived in with Hagrid. I slowed my pace, seeing Hagrid down near the pumpkin patch.

_Dumbledore believes him to be innocent. Everyone knows that. I want to trust Dumbledore, but what else could have killed that girl and petrified the students? _I frowned. _I don't know what kind of monster Hagrid had been keeping down there, but Riddle managed to catch him. Of course Riddle was the one to catch him. Who else? Riddle also said that Hagrid had been keeping werewolf cubs under his bed and that he would run off into the Forest to wrestle trolls. _

_I don't know. Something doesn't seem right, and I want to trust Dumbledore's judgement, but what else could it have been?_

_I'm just glad that Hagrid can still stay at Hogwarts._

I caught up to Margaret, who stood staring up into the sky, where I could see Will hovering some ways up. "Is he alright?"

"He won't talk to me." Margaret bit her lip. "Why wouldn't he talk to me?"

I let out a sigh. "It's nothing personal against you, Margaret. He's probably just feeling rotten right now." We watched as Will began to zoom towards the forest. "Idiot." I rolled my eyes.

Margaret took a couple steps forward. "Shouldn't we stop him?"

"He's flying over the forest, not in it. Just let him get some frustration out." I took Margaret's arm and led her over to a rock. "Let's just wait for him to come back."

"Yeah," she replied softly, settling herself down comfortably.

We had a halting conversation about classes, but neither of us were really into it. I couldn't stop my thoughts from racing. _Margaret was right. Riddle is probably going to give him a really bad detention. I knew that his foolish bravery was going to cost him one day. _I scanned the tree line, looking for him. _He'll be back to normal in no time. Nothing like this really gets him down. He was probably more shocked at Cora's announcement than his encounter with Tom. _

"There he is!" Margaret said suddenly, bolting upright. We watched as Will flew down to the ground and dismounted in front of us. His sandy hair was windswept but he did seem better than before. Margaret went forward and hugged him tightly. Will looked a little surprised, but returned the hug.

I hid my smile. _I always suspected… He's oblivious, though. _

"Let's go back up to the castle," I said, and the three of us started walking back up.

"I'm sorry," Will said suddenly, looking at me. He shifted his broom to the other shoulder. "You got in trouble again because of me. I just acted again without thinking."

I put a hand on his arm. "While that may be true, I have to say it doesn't matter a lot to me that I got in trouble. I'd rather get in trouble anyday than leaving you to fight them alone."

For once, Will didn't defend his pride. "I know, but if I hadn't shot that curse at him in the first place-"

"-then we'd still be there, arguing. Or Stuart would have started the fight. He was about to pull out his wand and jinx Walton into tomorrow, but you beat him to it." I grinned when I saw Will smile at that. "Don't worry about it."

"If you didn't want to fight Slytherins all the time, then you wouldn't be Will." Margaret smiled up at him. "Don't change, Will. Please."

Will looked down at her. "Yeah… You're right." His smile widened. "I won't change. I'll go back to fighting Slytherins!"

"Not until after Quidditch tryouts," I reminded him. "Cora won't let you back on the team."

"After tryouts, Malfoy will get what's coming to him." Will's face twisted with his famous scowl. "Prick."

The rest of the walk up to the castle was shared in companionable silence.

* * *

><p>AN

I apologize on the lateness of this chapter. I hope that you all are sticking with me. I have many more chapters written that will be put up soon.

Thank you so much to all my reviewers! I love all of your reviews!

Please let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>"Good luck," I said softly to Will as we approached the Entrance Hall. Already I could see Riddle waiting for the two of us.<p>

"You as well." Will sighed and slowed down as we walked towards Riddle. He was twirling his wand in his fingers as he waited for us, watching us approach with cold eyes.

He put on a charming smile as the two of us came to stand in front of him, waiting for our sentence. "Miss Linden, you will be spending your detention in the Detention Chamber. There will be a teacher waiting there for you." _Detention Chamber? That sounds familiar. Have I been there before? _Riddle narrowed his eyes slightly, and I realized that I was still standing there. Shooting one last anxious glance at Will, I turned around and walked towards the first floor.

"As for you, Mr. Harrison, I have something rather special for you to do." Riddle's voice faded away as I climbed the staircase. I grimaced, but there was really nothing I could do. _Riddle wouldn't make him do anything too bad...would he? _

_Yes. I believe he would._

My thoughts turned to my own detention as I trudged along the corridor. _The Detention Chamber doesn't sound too bad. There'll be a teacher there, as well. I wonder who? What will I be doing? Lines? _I snorted at the thought. Didn't seem to be Riddle's style.

Then again, I hardly knew him.

I appeared outside the heavy wooden door. Testing the knob, I realized it was locked. I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

Silence.

_Maybe he was wrong and I can go? _I thought hopefully.

My hopes were dashed as the door slowly creaked open. A mass of white hair greeted me with dark eyes squinting at me. "You Findel?" the teacher asked in a rather scratchy voice.

"My surname is Linden, sir," I said.

The teacher opened the door wider, a scowl on his face, and ignored my correction. "What are you waiting for? Get inside!"

I obeyed. There were tables and chairs in the small room, and an easy chair in the corner. Two torches burned on the walls, giving the room a small amount of light. The teacher sealed the door with magic before settling himself down in the easy chair. "Just sit there and be quiet," he grumbled before closing his eyes.

_What? _I blinked. _What kind of detention is this?_ Looking around again, I realized that there was another student lounging in the back. He raised his arm and motioned to me to come over to him. As I approached the boy, snores rose up from the teacher in the corner. _He's asleep. Great._

"Keith. Keith Reynolds," he introduced himself, shaking my hand. "Seventh year Ravenclaw."

"Ella Linden," I replied. "Sixth year Gryffindor."

Keith leaned back in his chair, casting a glare at the teacher. "I've been in here for an hour and half. Southcott just sticks us in here and then goes to sleep. Bloody oaf."

"Southcott?" I also looked at the teacher. "I've never seen him before."

"He spends all his time lurking around the castle. Takes food from the kitchen. Hates people in general." Keith rolled his eyes. "I've had detention with him twice before. I've been in here for as long as six hours before."

"Can't we just leave?" I asked, looking at the door.

Keith shook his head. "It's magically sealed. I don't know how to get past it. 'Sides, if you lay a finger on that door, it starts shrieking. Southcott will wake up and-" He paused. "Well, let's just say it's not very pleasant."

"So we're stuck here." I sighed. "Great."

"What are you in here for, if you don't mind me asking?" Keith twirled his wand around on the desk.

"I defended my friend from a curse, and Tom Riddle saw." I dropped my head on the desk.

"Riddle?" Keith asked, startled. "Huh. He seems like a nice bloke, but strict about the rules."

"Only when it comes to Gryffindors," I muttered, before speaking up. "What made you come here?"

Keith looked sheepish. "I, uh, misfired on a jinx in the corridor and it caused a chandelier to fall. Carpe was just around the corner and he plopped me in here before I could say 'Quidditch'."

I laughed. "I'm surprised that he didn't burst a vein. He's very protective of all the school's artifacts."

"He nearly did, I assure you." Keith grinned.

It was quiet for a couple minutes. I looked around the chamber again. _This room seems really familiar… _My eyes landed on the torch on the wall. _Wait a second…_

I stood up abruptly and stalked over to it. It had an ornate ebony bracket that gleamed in the firelight, but there was something odd about it. _There was something to do with this… What was it? I don't remember… It was important, though._

"What are you doing?" Keith asked from behind me, bewildered.

An image popped into my mind and I gasped. "Oh!" Reaching up to grasp the handle, I tugged it down. Immediately, the wall opened, revealing a dark stone passageway. A grin crossed my face. "I knew that I remembered this room!"

Keith was beside me in an instant, staring in awe at the passageway. "I never knew about this!" he exclaimed. "I wonder where it leads…"

"Only one way to find out, I suppose." I cast a glance back at Southcott, but he was still fast asleep. "Though what happens when he wakes up?"

"Then he'll be in a right state, trying to figure out where we went. 'Sides, he doesn't really know our names. He'll forget 'em. So let's go!" Eagerly, Keith held his wand aloft, lighting the tip as he took the first steps into the passageway. After a second's hesitation, I followed him in. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the wall behind me closed, leaving us in near darkness.

"_Lumos_." I held my wand up as well as we began walking.

"I have to say this is the most interesting detention I have ever had the pleasure to be in," Keith said amiably, glancing around at the stone walls. "I definitely hope that I'm placed with old Southcott again for my next one. Ha! He won't ever wake up to see me there again!"

"Just don't tell too many people," I warned. "Otherwise the teachers will catch wind of it."

"Tell anyone?" Keith sounded generally insulted. "This is the greatest discovery yet! Of course I'm not going to tell anyone!" I laughed at that, and my companion allowed himself a small grin before glancing at me with an inquisitive eye. "How did you figure out it was there?"

"Oh, um…" I wracked my brains for a suitable story. "An older student showed it to me when I was a first year. Never really had detention in this room, so I forgot about it."

"Huh. Fair enough." Keith sighed. "I only wish that I knew about this sooner. Alas, in my years of youth, I had not the chance for such a marvelous discovery as this. All well. It'll be worth getting detention, now!"

Keith came to an abrupt stop and I nearly toppled into him. Coming to stand next to him, I saw that there was the back of a picture frame blocking our journey. "Um… Excuse me, but could you let us out please?" I said rather loudly, hoping to capture the inhabitants of the picture's attention.

After a small moment, the picture swung outwards, and we clambered out into an unrecognizable corridor. It was dimly lit with portraits lining the walls, filled with scowling witches and wizards. The large portrait behind us closed, revealing a middle-aged woman with a pallid complexion and sour expression. "Thank you," I said to her.

She snorted and batted at the air with her hand, as if warding away the thanks. "Get out of my sight, you lot."

We obeyed, choosing to go down the left side of the passage. The grim portraits were starting to make me feel uncomfortable. I racked my brains, but I could not draw up any memory of this place, though I guessed I had been through here before. "Any idea where we are?" I asked Keith softly.

"None," he murmured back.

After what seemed like an age, the passageway started to grow lighter, and the portraits less disapproving. As Keith and I went through a tapestry, we both recognized where we were. "Funny," Keith remarked. "I didn't realize that we had been traveling downwards."

"I didn't know this would end up in the dungeons," I admitted as we walked up the corridor, heading to the stairs that led up to the Entrance Hall. A thought suddenly struck me, and I tugged on Keith's robe. "We have to be careful. If Riddle sees us, then we're done for."

He nodded. "Duly noted. Onward."

Luckily, we made it up to the Entrance Hall without incident. "What an adventure!" Keith grinned. "Thank you, Ella, for receiving detention today and showing me that passageway. I can now cause mayhem freely without fear of hours of backlash!"

I grinned slightly, shaking my head. "Just be careful. If you use it too often, the teacher will probably find out about it. As it is, I think it'd be best that I skip dinner tonight and just grab something from the kitchen. Riddle might find out."

Keith smiled at me. "Maybe we'll be stuck in the same detention again. Who knows?" Waving, he began to walk away towards the stairs that would take him to Ravenclaw Tower. I could hear him chortling to himself. "Oh, I wish I can see the look on Southcott's face when he finds out that we're missing…"

Laughing quietly to myself, I began the journey to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was slightly crowded, as more and more people fled indoors for the promise of dinner in a little bit. I took the opportunity to grab a table and put a dent in some of my homework. Margaret was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Will. A spark of worry flashed through me. I had forgotten about Will and his detention. _Is he okay?_

After about an hour and a half, when I was sure that mostly everyone was at dinner, I made a quick run to the kitchens. The house-elves greeted me cheerfully and shoved as much food as they could into my hands. The one that I recognized from my fuzzy memories, Pokey, was there as well. She grabbed my elbow and convinced me to sit at a wooden table in front of the hearth to eat.

"Pokey is glad that you've come to see her, miss!" she squeaked, beaming at me. She was still clothed in a ragged pillowcase, but I knew better than to mention it. Pokey held no desire to be out of service, and loved her job at Hogwarts.

"It's been a while," I replied, smiling at her before shoveling some food in my mouth.

"Don't worry, Miss Linden." Her tennis-ball eyes grew wider than they already were. "Pokey has not told a single soul about your secret! Pokey will take the secret to the grave!"

"I know you will," I assured her. I had known Pokey from a time before, and needless to say when I came back to Hogwarts five years ago, she was rather alarmed. As far as I knew, Pokey was the only one alive that knew of my secret, and I wanted to keep it that way. I knew I could trust her.

Pokey chatted towards me for a couple more minutes before she returned to work, and I was left to finish my meal alone. The moment I had taken my last bite, the house-elves whisked away my plate and tried to offer me all manner of desserts. I grabbed a couple of sweets to take with me to Gryffindor Tower, and left. Luckily for me, most people were still at dinner, so I made my way undetected to the Gryffindor common room.

As I walked through the portrait hole, I jumped. Will was standing there, soaking wet, exhausted, and a haunted look in his eyes. He had minor cuts and abrasions all over his hands and some on his face. He looked up slowly as I walked in. "Oh," he mumbled. "Hi, Ella."

"What happened to you?" I gasped, flicking my wand, drying him immediately. I watched as he sank into a comfy chair in front of the fire, and quickly went to go sit in the chair next to him. "What did Riddle make you do?"

"He told me that Slughorn ran out of leeches for his potions. So Riddle made me go and get some more. He didn't let me use magic." Will shuddered. "I won't ever go in another lake again. No. Never."

"How long were you out there for?" I asked incredulously.

"Four hours," was the reply that my friend gave before he went silent. When I realized that I was still clutching the bundle of sweets, I unwrapped it. Seeing that chocolate was the main thing in the bundle, I plopped it on Will's lap. He started a bit, glancing down.

"Eat," I said firmly. "You'll feel better."

Will hesitated, but he was never one to deny food, especially sweets. They soon disappeared, and color returned to Will's cheeks, making him seem more alive again. "Thanks, Ella."

"You're welcome." I eyed one of his hands, which was still bleeding freely. "You might want to go to Madam Walsh to get that-"

"No!" Will gasped, making me jump in surprise. He blinked, but continued in a softer voice. "No. I-I'm fine. I swear."

"Alright, fine," I said softly, watching him closely. _Four hours trying to catch leeches? That must have been- _My eyes widened as a sudden thought struck me. _Will absolutely loathes slimy things, and he also has a fear of vampires sucking his blood. He told Margaret and I that it came from his older brother scaring him with those types of stories when he was really young. Riddle must have found that out, and that's why he specifically used this detention for him. No one knows his fears except for Margaret and I, so he must have used Legilimency. _My fists clenched. _What kind of bastard is he?! _

_Most of the school likes him a lot. Even people who haven't really met him. _My mind flashed towards earlier, with Keith. _"Riddle?" Keith asked, startled. "Huh. He seems like a nice bloke, but strict about the rules." _

I sighed. _Margaret also likes him, and thinks he's handsome. I know that a lot of other girls share her opinion. He is handsome; only a fool would deny it. I'm just not attracted to him. There is something off about him… Using Will's worst fears against him was a vicious move. I now don't like him even more than ever. _

I reached out and gripped Will's arm in comfort, glancing at him in concern. _He'll bounce back. He always does. _

_I hope._

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Hello again! I apologize for my absence, but graduating from high school took up a lot of time, as is preparing for college in the early fall. I am turning my attention back to this story. I have up through Chapter 11 written, and will go through and edit it as I publish it here.

Please review!

~Eva Sirico~


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

I flicked my wand in the air, causing small firecrackers to shoot from the tip of it into the air. They swarmed in tiny hoards for a moment before exploding in a shower of colorful sparks. In front of me, Margaret jolted awake and sat up quickly. "Wha's goin' on?" she mumbled, looking around with bleary eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess of dark curls.

"It's Halloween!" I told her, grinning at the sight. "Wake up already."

Margaret stared at me uncomprehendingly for a few seconds before dropping back in the bed and put her arm over her forehead. "Why me?" she moaned. I tugged the blankets away from her on the bed, dodging her attempts to grab them back. "Leave me alone, Ella. I want to sleep."

"Get up or else you'll miss breakfast."

The magic words had their desired effect. "Alright, alright. I'm up, I'm up." Margaret grumbled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Why are you so damn cheerful?"

"It's my favorite holiday," I reminded her. "It only comes once a year, after all."

Margaret gave an enormous yawn. "Yeah, yeah. What time is it?" She began to shuffle towards the door.

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly sheepish. "7:00."

"Are you joking?! How am I going to be late?!" Margaret let out a growl as she slammed the door open and stalked towards the sixth and seventh years' bathroom. Satisfied that she was getting ready for the day, I left the dormitory and walked down the stairs to the common room. Will was gone, but Jasper and Austin were chatting with a couple of seventh years.

"Morning, Ella," Austin called when he saw me making my way over to them.

Jazz also turned around and smiled. "You look strangely cheery this morning."

"It's Halloween," I said, grinning. "I'm allowed to be happy on my favorite holiday."

"It's not allowed. You should get detention." Jazz smirked.

"Remember what happened the last time I was given detention?" I countered.

Austin shook his head, frustrated. "It's been a month and a half, but I still don't understand how you and that Ravenclaw snuck out of there. Southcott was furious, but of course he didn't remember who it was that he was watching, so he didn't bother to report it."

"Did Riddle know?" Jasper asked curiously. "He was the one who gave you the detention, after all."

My mind flashed back to the Potions lesson that following Monday. I could easily guess that he knew I snuck out of detention, but he didn't react to it. Instead, Riddle kept shooting me these calculating, cold looks, almost as if he was trying to figure something out. He didn't bother to use Legilimency, to which I was grateful. _What would have happened if he had? Would I have been able to keep him out like last time?_

_I really need to learn Occlumency. _

I put on a smile. "Naw. He never guessed."

"Ready for breakfast?" Austin asked, glancing at his watch. "Richard should be downstairs in a second."

"I'm waiting for Margaret. I'll see you down there though." I gave them a smile. Austin led a small conversation about Herbology before Richard appeared and they left. Small trickles of Gryffindors walked between the dormitories and the portrait exit as I waited for my friend. After about fifteen minutes, she appeared and we left.

"I still can't believe you woke me up so early," she mumbled, fixing her hair as we walked down.

"It's a shame," I agreed.

"Is Will already down there?" Satisfied with her hair, Margaret turned her towards me, waiting for an answer.

I shrugged. "I'm guessing as much. You know how he is with food."

"He's been a little different, hasn't he?" Margaret asked in a softer tone. "You know, ever since the detention."

"He's not as brash," I agreed, also lowering my voice. "He's quieter than he used to be." I smiled fondly. "At least Will is still keen on dueling Slytherins. Did you hear what he did to Nott the other day?"

"How could I not?" Margaret laughed as we entered the Great Hall. "He bragged about it for hours."

"So I guess not different in that area," I said, smiling. We halted our conversation as we approached our friends and sat down on the benches.

"Are you excited for the feast tonight?" Margaret asked Will, who was busy stuffing his face with toast.

Will nodded. "I'm eggsited fer da food," he said with his mouth full.

"Swallow," I said firmly. Will obeyed. "Now say what you just said."

He rolled his eyes but complied. "I'm excited for the food."

"Of course you are." Margaret fondly shook her head.

Breakfast passed quickly and I found myself in the library, working on an essay for Slughorn. Margaret, across the table, was examining her Charms essay with a critical eye. She sighed before dipping her quill in ink and scratching out a word or two. I paused in my writing, tugging the book I was using closer to me to examine the details.

A small, irritated sigh escaped me as I realized that I had already used all the information the book gave me. Snapping the book shut, I stood up. "I'm going to grab another book," I said softly to Margaret. She nodded, not looking up from her essay. I walked away from the table and through the many rows of bookshelves, looking for the one I needed. Near the back of the library I found the section on antidotes to poisons.

I skimmed the shelf for the book I needed. It caught my eye and I reached out my hand towards it. Out of nowhere, another hand enclosed on the book's spine and tugged it off the shelf. My hand brushed against theirs, and a jolt ran through me. Whipping my head around, my eyes widened in surprise. Tom Riddle stood there, a strange look on his face. He glanced at my hand, which still dangled uselessly in the air, before his eyes flashed to my face. "Miss Linden," he acknowledged with a charming smile. "Did you need this book?"

_Wasn't that obvious? _I thought indignantly, returning my hand to my side. Out loud I merely said, "No, it's fine. You can take it." I made to go around him, but he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Surprise and unease shot through me. "What are you doing?"

"Are you sure that you don't need it?" Riddle asked, his eyes fixed on my face. "I'd be more than willing to give it to you."

My uneasiness was slowly starting to be replaced with irritation. "I already said that you can take the book."

Riddle's dark eyes captured mine. I sucked in a breath, feeling frozen to my spot as he took a slow step towards me. "Take the book," he said softly. The way he said it sounded like a request, but I knew better.

It was an order.

I was suddenly able to move. My eyes blazing, I took a step back from him, clenching my fists at my sides. "I've already said it twice, _Riddle_," I said coldly. "_You_ can take the book." I brushed past him, half-expecting him to stop me again. He didn't, but merely watched me as I reached the end of the row and left his sight.

I returned to my seat, irritated. Margaret, who was squinting at her completed essay, didn't look up as I seated myself across from her. I stared down at my half-finished essay, running through the encounter in my mind again. _I'm not a fool. I know that the conversation wasn't about who gets the book for their essay. The question is, why would he bother doing that with me?_

The answer suddenly presented itself. _I don't fawn over him like the rest of the school does. Was he just trying to see how I feel about him? Was that a test?_ The scowl on my face at present could give Will a run for his money.

Margaret, satisfied with her essay, sat back and glanced up at me. Her eyes widened. "What happened to you?"

"I'll see you at lunch," I muttered, gathering my things into my bag before taking off out of the library. Dodging first years who were huddled in clumps in the middle of the hallway, I headed towards Gryffindor Tower, intent on finishing my homework in the comfort of the common room. I was only halfway there when I ran - literally - into Jo.

"Ella!" she squeaked, surprised. "Oh, um, so sorry, got to go!" She tried to speed past me but I grabbed her robe, tugging her back. A guilty look was plastered across her face, which made me instantly suspicious.

"What'd you do?" I asked, sighing.

Jo eyed me for a second before deciding to trust me. "It's not about what I did; it's what I'm going to do."

"And what is that?" I frowned at the prankster, not sure if I necessarily wanted to know what she had planned for whatever poor soul that was on the receiving of her prank.

Jo leaned closer to me, her eyes sparkling. "At the Halloween feast, I'm going to release a horde of Cornish pixies!"

I stared at her blankly. "Where did you get Cornish pixies?"

She waved her hand impatiently. "Friend of a friend of a friend. Long story. Anyway, I was thinking that during Dippet's speech would be an ideal time. What do you think?"

I held up my hands, starting to regret stopping her. "Don't involve me in anything, I beg of you." Jo wilted with disappointment. Shaking my head slightly I started to walk forward, but paused and looked back. "That would be an _excellent_ time to release them." I winked at her as her mood instantly brightened before I continued on my way.

_Oh, the feast will certainly be interesting tonight._

Needless to say, it was.

The Great Hall was magnificently decorated with jack-o-lanterns suspended from the ceiling and live bats flying to and fro through the air. I sat with my friends at the Gryffindor table, glancing up and down for Jo. I saw her at the very end of the table, near the door. She waved slightly at me and I just shook my head, grinning.

It seemed like ages before everyone was seated. I tapped my fingers against the table impatiently as a gaggle of Hufflepuffs chatted with Gryffindors further down the table, making their way very slowly towards their seats. When they were finally seated, Dippet stood up, beaming. "Another Halloween has come for Hogwarts to celebrate it!" he called in his rather feeble voice.

I glanced down the table and saw that Jo had disappeared. Smirking, I turned back to where Dippet was still talking. "-and of course, you will continue to grow and learn for years to come-"

Something small and blue zoomed by my head. I blinked, glancing up in time to see a Cornish pixie darting over the heads of the students. Whispering broke out over the hall as other people started to notice the pixie. Will frowned, squinting at it. "What is that thing?"

I clapped my hand over my mouth, trying to muffle my laughter. The next second, pixies were everywhere. Several students screamed as they flew through the air, tugging at clothes, pulling hair, and pinching skin. Many were trying to bat them away with their hands, and I witnessed a couple of Ravenclaws attempting to stun them. The jets of red light missed the pixies and instead smashed against a couple of the jack-o-lanterns. They were released from their spell, and their remains splattered over the unsuspecting students below.

I slumped against the table, trying my best to contain my laughter, but I was failing miserably. _Jo, I think this may just be your crowning prank._ A quick glance told me that Jo was back at the table and blending in with the other students, pretending to look confused as she flapped her hands about, trying to ward away the pixies.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dumbledore stand up at the staff table. Bringing out his wand his pointed it at the air. Instantly, every pixie was immobilized, suspended in the air. With an almost casual flick of his wrist, they all flew neatly into a rather large pile in the middle of the hall, right next to me and my friends. The hall grew quiet as everyone turned towards the teachers for an explanation. I could see many students, including Jasper and Will, grinning as they appreciated the prank that was just pulled.

"A student's prank, nothing more," Dumbledore said calmly before sitting down, leaving a flustered Dippet to deal with the aftermath.

"Yes, well, the student shall be caught and dealt with accordingly." Dippet fixed his hat on top of his head, hiding his rather large bald spot. "As I was saying, Hogwarts shall continue to...house students for generations to come...and…" Dippet scrambled to remember his speech, but it was long out of his grasp. "And let the feast begin," he said, admitting defeat as he sat down.

Instantly, the tables were filled with delicious food. The pixie prank forgotten in the lieu of the feast, everyone began to stuff their faces. Will in particular grabbed everything in sight and piled it on top of his plate. Talk was minimal for a while.

I glanced back at the pile of pixies and found several of them twitching as the spell began to wear off. Grinning, I glanced up in time to see Riddle staring at me, a slight frown on his face. The smile slipped off of my face and I quickly turned around to face the table again. The scene from earlier in the library flashed through my mind, dampening my mood slightly.

Lydia leaned towards me. "That was Jo, wasn't it?" she asked quietly, her eyes gleaming with humor.

I nodded, a smirk on my face. Lydia just laughed before returning to her food. I followed suit, joining in a conversation with Margaret and Austin.

All in all, it was a memorable feast.

**A/N**

Wow. Leave for a couple months and they change everything! Did they get rid of the line breaks? I couldn't find them... All well.

Things start to really pick up in the next couple chapters. I have up through Chapter 13 currently written, and it will be posted here as I go along editing it, but be warned: College work is rather overwhelming, especially since I'm a creative writing major. I'll try to update as frequently as I can, but schoolwork always comes first.

Thank you to **Kyoki no Megami **and **Zoey2019** for reviewing! I'd love to hear what all of you think of my story, and don't hesitate to tell me about suggestions that could happen or things that could be changed.

Until next time!

-Eva Sirico


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

I slowly spread jam over my slice of toast, blocking out the sound of Will and Peter's rowdy conversation about plans for a dueling club.

_Riddle is growing bolder. The 'small talk' during Potions is starting to become an actual problem. I'm just worried about him finding out my secret. He hasn't tried to use Legilimency on me, but I can't help feeling that it's just a matter of time. The more I continue to resist him, the more curious he gets. Nothing's really happened since that day in the library, but…_

I snuck a peek at Riddle from under my eyelashes. He was currently in a conversation with Malfoy, who was scowling into his plate. _I doubt he understands the term 'friend'. Those Slytherins are just his followers, and he's the leader of them. Those Slytherins are the bullies of the school. I saw what Goyle did to that first year yesterday in the hallway. _I smirked. _He didn't exactly have long to gloat before I made leeks sprout from his ears. Of course, he didn't know it was me, so I was able to get away with it._

"Miss Linden?"

_I suppose Will is really rubbing off on me. I have very little qualms about jinxing Slytherins if they deserve it. I won't go looking for trouble, like Will and Peter do, but if the situation calls for it, I'm more than happy to rise to the occasion._

"Miss Linden."

_I wonder what will happen if we do end up getting a dueling club? I'm definitely joining if they do. I know I said at the beginning of the school year that it wasn't going to be a good idea, but I take that back now. With everything going on outside of school… It's better that everyone knows how to defend themselves._

_Besides. I'd love to be able to wipe the smirk off of Malfoy's face._

_...Okay, I guess I may look for a little bit of trouble._

"_Ella!_"

Blinking, I came to. I tilted my head up to see Dumbledore looking down at me with twinkling blue eyes, holding a piece of parchment and a quill. "So sorry to disturb your thoughts, Miss Linden, but I need to know whether you are staying for the holidays or not."

"Yes, sir," I said immediately. I had no desire to return to the orphanage during the holidays. It wasn't as bad as some in previous times that I could vaguely remember, but it was still less than desirable to stay. I preferred to remain at Hogwarts as much as I could before I was forced to be there during the summer.

Dumbledore wrote my name down on the parchment. "This means that you two are returning to your families?" He looked over his half-moon glasses towards Margaret and Will, who looked away guiltily. "Very well." Smiling cheerfully, he moved down the table, collecting a name here and there of a student who was staying at Hogwarts for the holidays.

It was silent for a moment between the three of us. Margaret fidgeted beside me before she blurted out, "I want you to come with me, but we don't have enough room."

"My mother would never let you come," Will admitted shamefully. "It's nothing against you, I promise! It's just that it would be improper for a girl to stay for the holidays…"

"It's fine," I assured them, smiling gently. "Go on and enjoy Christmas with your families. I'll be perfectly fine at Hogwarts."

Margaret still looked guilty. "I'd stay here with you, Ella, honest! It's just that my mother wants me home, with the threat of Grindelwald and everything…" She trailed off, wincing slightly. No one really mentioned Grindelwald here. No one wanted to taint the atmosphere of Hogwarts with the thought of him.

"Please don't worry about it." I put a hand on her arm. "I promise I'll be okay staying here."

"Alright," Margaret mumbled dubiously. Will simply hid behind a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Deciding a change of subject was needed, I struck up a conversation about Charms class, which prompted an argument between Will and Margaret about the proper wand movement for the charm _Defodio._ I quietly finished my breakfast, relieved that we had steered away from the conversation about going home for the holidays. I didn't want my friends to feel bad about going home and seeing their families. I would admit that the thought brought pinpricks of jealousy to me, but I would never let that show.

The day passed languidly. With the holidays coming up in the next week, the teachers were reluctant to do much in class, leaving everyone to be able to chat. Elizabeth was talking about how she would have all of her aunts, uncles, and grandparents come and stay at her house. Margaret was asking her questions, interested about how Muggles celebrated the holidays. Will and Austin were planning on getting together to play Quidditch, and Will even mentioned trying to get Anna to join in. Margaret was simply glad to be able to see her older sister.

After lunch, I regretfully left Margaret and Will and descended with the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years into the dungeons. As I sat down in my assigned seat next to Riddle, I noticed that Riddle had a charming smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Miss Linden."

"Hello," I said, rather taken aback by his pleasant expression and tone. Usually at the beginning of Potions, we would ignore each other until we were forced to work together on a potion.

"You must be excited for the holidays to begin. I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing your family again." His friendly expression stayed on his face, making his assumption seemingly innocent.

"I'm staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, actually," I said, my heart slightly aching at the thought of my family, or rather just the thought _of _family. It had been too long… I had no idea how long I had been under this curse, and I had no memories of my true life and family. Every time I appeared somewhere new, the memories from previous times grew dimmer and almost dream-like.

Riddle raised an eyebrow slightly, the picture of innocent surprise. "Oh?"

I chose not to elaborate and decided to try to turn the tables a little bit. "You, however, must be happy to spend the holidays at home with your family." I couldn't remember if Riddle was an orphan or not. I felt like I remember hearing that he was, but I didn't know for sure.

His seemingly friendly demeanor turned slightly cold. "I am staying at Hogwarts as well."

_Ah. So he is an orphan. _"Oh?" I said in mild surprise.

Riddle narrowed his eyes, but luckily Slughorn decided to start the lesson. "Since it is only a couple days till you all leave for home, and our last Potions class till after the holidays, I thought we could do something fun today!" Slughorn beamed at all of us. "Today we are going to be creating an Elixir to Induce Euphoria, and if made correctly, one person from each group is going to test it! Do not drink any until I say so. We don't want any accidents." His eyes strayed to Jasper and Austin, and I hid a grin.

_One person from each group is going to test it? _I glanced up at Riddle. _I hope that Riddle drinks it. That would be a sight worth seeing. _The thought of the Slytherin prefect acting giddy brought a small smirk to my face. As Slughorn waved at us to begin creating our potions, I rifled through the book until I came to the correct page. I started the cauldron while Riddle went to get the supplies that we needed.

Words were barely exchanged during the creation of the potion. Riddle was silent beside me and I was too wrapped up in my thoughts of Riddle in a euphoric mood to supply conversation. It didn't take long for our potion to be a bright yellow and bubbling cheerfully in the cauldron. Tiny rainbows shot out from it, as well as a sweet smell.

I looked up to scan the room and saw that Slughorn was observing two Slytherin girls' potion. My eyes traveled to the Gryffindor side of the room. Jasper and Austin were shooting furtive looks towards Slughorn. Suspicious, I kept watching them to see Jasper grab a ladle and dip it into his dark yellow potion, which bubbled sluggishly, before gulping the liquid down. My mouth opened to stop them, but it was too late.

Jasper jerked to his feet, holding his side. Hysteric laughter burst out from him, causing everyone to look at him in alarm. Tears sprouted from his eyes, and he began to dance around the room, laughing wildly while flapping his arms. Austin fell out of his chair, cracking up, while I buried my face in my hands, shaking with my own laughter.

Slughorn was less than amused. "Five points from Gryffindor for not following directions. Mr. Cooper, would you please escort Mr. Davies to the Hospital Wing?" Austin picked himself up off the ground, grinning wildly, and went to go collect Jasper, who was currently meowing at the ingredients cabinet.

Once they had left the room, Slughorn appeared in front of us. "Ah, Mr. Riddle, Miss Linden." He peered into the cauldron. "Perfectly made! One of you may go ahead and test it."

I opened my mouth to volunteer Riddle, but he beat me to it. "Miss Linden was going to try it," Riddle said smoothly. I froze and shot a glare at him, but he simply stared back at me with a slight smirk on his face.

"Well then, Miss Linden, go ahead and try some!" Slughorn beamed at me expectantly.

Reluctantly I reached out for the ladle and scooped some of the potion up. Unwillingly, I brought it to my lips to take a sip. The potion was very sweet, and I could immediately feel myself starting to warm up. A smile stretched across my face as my spirits lifted, and the dungeon suddenly didn't seem so dreary and bleak.

"Perfect!" Slughorn chortled. "Five points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin!" He left to go examine someone elses potion, leaving Riddle and I sitting there. I was feeling irrationally happy, and everything seemed to shine in that moment.

"How are you feeling?" Riddle asked me. I looked up into his face, seeing a handsome smile. _It fits, _I thought absentmindedly.

"Amazing," I said cheerfully. All thoughts of disliking Riddle were banished. Why would I ever dislike him? He seems like a really nice person. _He's really handsome, too…_

Riddle chuckled at this, and I decided I liked hearing him chuckle. "I suppose you're excited for Christmas."

I nodded, beaming at him. "It's such a happy time of year, isn't it? Everything's so beautifully decorated and that Christmas cheer is everywhere… I suppose I'll be rather lonely, but I don't blame my friends for going home to their families. Families are important, aren't they? I only know from seeing other families."

"Where is your family?" my companion inquired.

My tongue felt strangely loose, but it didn't matter because Riddle was really nice and a good listener. "I don't know. I presume that they're dead. It's been a very, very long time since I've seen them. I don't remember them anymore."

Riddle looked sympathetic. "I am very sorry to hear that."

I waved it away. "It's okay. I always get to meet a lot of interesting people and make good memories." Distantly in my mind, alarms were going off, and I couldn't help but feel like I maybe shouldn't be talking about this. But it was okay, right? It's just Riddle and he's sincere and nice and a good listener and handsome…

"Perhaps, to cure your loneliness over the holidays, you and I might see each other?" Riddle dark eyes held mine. "I assure you that you will not be...bored… with me."

"That sounds nice!" I beamed at him. A nagging thought at the corner of my mind chimed in at that moment. _Don't agree to anything that Riddle suggests. Don't. _My smile faded slightly as confusion started to roll in. Why couldn't I? He's really nice. The urge to laugh bubbled inside me, but I subdued it and turned my attention back to Riddle, who was in the middle of talking.

"-Slughorn's party really is a memorable occasion. Though, I find myself without an escort. Would you perhaps like to accompany me?" His eyes burned into me.

The word 'yes' was on the tip of my tongue, but I hesitated. My feelings of euphoria were fading, leaving me feeling confused in its wake. _What happened? ...Was that all from that potion? _I looked up at Riddle, who was frowning in frustration. "No, thank you," I said, my mind scrambling to recover from the effects of the potion. _Was I seriously thinking all those things about him? I feel incredibly lucky that he didn't use Legilimency. If he had, I doubt I could have fended him off._

Riddle stared piercingly at me, but I didn't back down. I met his gaze evenly, replaying the conversation we had. _I didn't really give anything away… Nothing too obvious, anyway. I can't let myself be in this situation again with him. I can't._

The bell rang. Breaking Riddle's gaze, I immediately grabbed my stuff and walked out of the dungeon without looking back.

_Well, vacation will certainly be interesting._

**A/N**

It's been a while, huh? First semester of college is over! Now I shall retreat back to Maine to play Skyrim and read Harry Potter for a month until next semester...

Tom Riddle's a real charmer, huh? Next chapter will be interesting!

Thank you to **CountOnIllusions** and **Dresupi** for reviewing! This one is for you!

Until next time.

-Eva Sirico


End file.
